


End Like This

by paperamericana



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, College, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Human Catra (She-Ra), Jock Adora (She-Ra), Lesbian Adora (She-Ra), Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), Multi, She-ra college au, catradora
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24647593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperamericana/pseuds/paperamericana
Summary: “Stop saying I’m stupid, I’m not stupid.”“Oh yeah? Make me.”.............................................................Adora had always known exactly what she had to do. Not because of some innate knowledge of right and wrong she’d had since she was young. But because she always had someone in her life telling her what was right.Once she knew what ‘right’ was, nothing would stop her from pursuing it. And being the best at it.At twelve her teacher suggested she try athletics. She became the top sprinter in her age group within weeks.At fifteen she became her grandmother’s sole caregiver, with her parents gone and her sister moving out.At seventeen she learnt her family couldn’t afford college tuition. After vigorously and persistently training, she was granted a free ride on an athletics scholarship.But at eighteen she found herself dropped off at a college four hours away from everyone and everything she knew. No one there to guide her, or tell her what was right anymore.With such an explosive start to her freshman year, how could she have known it would end like this?
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Light Hope/Mara (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Netossa/Spinnerella (She-Ra)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Adora had never liked the colour black.

Black reeked of a melancholy she couldn’t shake, of chills up her spine and down her neck. It rang out like a distant siren, dulled but shrill enough to pierce any comfortable silence. Inviting and paralysing all at once.

Her friend had worn a black dress to her sixteenth birthday party, and she’d broken down at the mere sight of it.

Maybe it was because, on the rare occasion she was alone and shrouded in her own quiet, black reminded Adora of her mother. Or rather, her mother’s funeral.

No matter how long they’d been expecting it, how many appointments they’d been told it was terminal, the wailing of the ambulances and her mother’s breathlessness had still shaken her to her core. She had been brave for Adora, a hospital room so inevitably filled with death was no place for a ten year old girl. But she couldn’t shelter her from the instinctive fear in her eyes when it really came down to it.

As Adora sat in the pew, watching people, all dressed in black, aimlessly wandering, exchanging saccharine small talk, she couldn’t help but feel bile rise in the back of her throat at the memory. This time felt different. There was a chill in the air that wouldn’t dissipate. It felt different to her mother’s, because it was. At least she’d been expecting that funeral.

This time she’d been blindsided.

* * *

**Chapter One**

_One year before._

Adora’s phone lit up with a familiar name, a smile etching its way onto her face as she picked up.

“Hey Mara, missing me already huh?”

“Worried about you more like.” Mara’s voice was usually warm in all the ways open fires were, homely and fierce. But her words seemed uncharacteristically rushed, punctuated by the sound of kitchen cupboards opening and slamming shut.

“Are you more worried about me or Grandma?” Adora chuckled.

“You know she gets confused when she drives on her own. Last time she was convinced she could get a fallen tree out of the road using some kind of magic. She sat there for three hours muttering to herself before I called her and found out where she was.” Adora couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped at the thought. “Which _would_ be funny if I didn’t then have drive two hours to get her. And the journey back from where you are is four hours.” Mara paused and sighed, seemingly stopping her frantic shuffling for a moment. “You’ve input our address into the satnav for her, right?”

“Yep. Turned the volume up extra loud, wound the window down a crack so she doesn’t get too hot and put her favourite CD in because the last time she tried to use the aux chord she-”

“-accused it of witchcraft, I know. Okay, okay. Great.”

Razz’s hysterical conspiracies were always a good story for Adora to tell her friends, and this was one particularly entertaining. They had been visiting a college for an open day, the University of Etheria wasn’t well-established by any means, but everybody had raved about its up and coming athletics department. Funnily enough, this was the very college Adora now stood on the precipice of joining.

Razz had insisted on driving them home, despite Adora’s protests to the contrary, and urged her to put something on to make the journey pass quicker. Although she’d gestured towards her CD collection in the car door, Adora refused spend the journey listening to another weird audio book. Half the time, Razz couldn’t remember the difference between Adora and Mara, but she could recite these folk, fairy tales word for word, and would proceed to do so just a few seconds before every line was spoken, much to the annoyance of both her granddaughters. Once Adora had hooked her phone up to the aux chord she pressed shuffle on her spotify, and slowly closed her eyes.

Until this moment, no one had truly understood the meaning of the phrase ‘the calm before the storm’. Those precious moments before disaster hits.

Adora’s music suddenly blasting out at max volume to a car manned by a who-knows-how-old woman with a distinct lack of common sense was about as disastrous as any disaster could get. What followed was a cacophony of yelps, screams and desperate fumbling.

“What- What is this sorcery?! Get it out Mara, get it out!” Razz yelled, taking her hands off the steering wheel to yank the chord out of Adora’s hands hard enough to detach it from the car itself. As she chucked the aux chord out of the window, the car swerved and they began veering onto the opposite side of the road. Adora grabbed the steering wheel, somehow managing not to scream as she moved them back. Without thinking, she stretched her foot over Razz to slam on the brake.

Only then did her grandma’s distressed mumblings cease.

Adora was pretty sure her life had just flashed before her eyes, yet all she could do was laugh. Hysterically. So hysterically she couldn’t help but snort as she tried to catch her breath.

“I don’t know what you’re laughing at, that thing almost killed us.” Adora remembered how her grandma had then grabbed her phone. “What is this, some kind of rune stone? Did it activate that thing?” And with that, her phone had been swiftly chucked out of the window. Much to Razz’s dismay, this had just made Adora laugh harder.

Despite the hilarious memory, she couldn’t help but cringe at the agitated sound of Mara’s voice over the phone. Ever since she’d moved back home to look after their ageing grandmother, she was about to snap, stressed, exhausted, or a lethal combination of them all, at any given time.

“I’m gonna be alright Mar.”

“Just don’t work yourself so hard you burn out okay?”

“I won’t.”

“I know you. And you will. But at least my _conscience_ knows I tried to stop you. Oh, and before I go, tell Grandma I’m making a pie for desert tonight.”

Adora turned round then for the first time since picking up the phone, to find Razz picking daffodils from a flower bed a few feet away.

“Grandma, Mara’s making a pie for tonight.” She called over.

“Oh lovely dearie. Tell her I’m getting some flowers for her to give to Hope.” Razz bumbled, pulling a ribbon from her hair to tie around the bunch she’d collected. The genuine joy on Razz’s face was infectious. Adora smiled at her absentmindedly.

“She’s got a bunch of daffodils for you to give to Hope. It’s your anniversary today right?”

“Er, yeah. It is. That’s great, thanks.” A heightened sense of discomfort fell over them then, Adora aware of her sister’s shift in mood. “Anyway, good luck Ads. Not that you need it, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who didn’t love you from the minute they met you… I’m not going to miss squeezing all four of us into this tiny house, but - I am going to miss _you_.”

Adora felt a pang in her chest at the crack in Mara’s voice, but forced herself to hold it together.

“I’ll miss you too Mar.” She glanced up to notice Razz had completely disappeared out of view. “I’ve got to go, Grandma’s gone walk about again. I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Miss you, see you soon. Okay, bye.” She hung up, shoving the phone into her pocket and jogged back down the path to catch her grandma animatedly chatting to a girl she’d never seen before.

“-oh yes that sounds incredible. I’m sure my granddaughter would…oh, Mara! This lovely young woman was just telling me about the model UN here. It sounds-“

“Adora, I’m, I’m Adora.” She was so used to her grandmother’s scattered brain that the response came out almost as a reflex.

“I know, that’s what I sa- hm, never mind. Adora this is Glimmer. She’s here to study political sciences.” Razz noted.

Adora’s attention was immediately captured by the 5-foot something girl’s hair, dyed a striking combination of pink and purple.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” She said with an outstretched hand, her smile so radiant it almost sparkled in the mid-afternoon sun. Adora leant forward and shook her hand, taken aback by the Glimmer’s strength. _She may be short but I wouldn’t be surprised if she could get me in a headlock with that steel grip._ Adora mused, chuckling to herself at the thought of the sunshine girl in front of her so filled with rage. Images of Glimmer with her arm round her neck, huffing with a bright red face to match her bright pink hair, flashed through Adora’s mind.

“Are you going to orientation?” Adora snapped back into the conversation at that.

“Oh, er, yeah I am.”

“Want to go together? I’m just going to chuck the last of my things in my dorm and then I was going to head down.” Adora smiled and nodded. At that, Glimmer spun round to grab a cardboard box of her things.

“See you’ve already made a friend. She seems sweet. That reminds me, I must get sugar for our pie-“

“Mara’s got it handled, Grandma. You just get in the car and drive home. By the way, your favourite sweets are on the passenger seat.”

“The berry ones?”

“The berry ones.” Adora wasn’t prepared for the swell of emotion that would rise in her as Razz pulled her down into an embrace. Or the gentle whispering that followed.

“Now you listen to me. It’s alright. You’re going to be alright. I can tell, because you’re you. And because I know these things. About the future. I just do. You don’t need me or Mara, or your mother, to be okay. I know you miss her. I do too. Just keep going and you’ll see.” With that, she let go, and spun around to head off.

As she turned the corner, Adora caught her looking back, mouthing _Razzle dazzle ‘em_ at her.

 _I’m gonna miss seeing that insane woman every day._ She thought as she grinned to herself. Tears began forming, but she refused to let them fall. _Don’t cry you idiot._

Suddenly she was alone. No Razz. No Mara. No one to tell her what she should do. But a flash of pink in her peripheral reminded her that maybe she wasn’t so alone after all.

* * *

Orientation was about exciting as either of them had anticipated. Adora had almost drifted off during the fire safety talk, and probably would have if it weren’t for the late but by no means subtle arrival of another student.

“Please take a seat in the front row. _Quickly_.” A frowning steward aggressively whispered at the girl. Evidently, this didn’t align with her plans as she drifted up the lecture theatre aisle and threw herself into a seat in the back row.

Watching her stroll past, Adora couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d seen her face before. During the talk, she stole a quick glance back, realising the girl with the familiar face was already looking at her. She smirked at the eye contact, her eyebrows raised in amusement. Adora spun back round immediately, cheeks tinged a rosy pink from having been caught looking.

“You okay?” Glimmer whispered to her. Adora nodded, too wrapped up in her own head to get anything out.

Once the talk finished, everyone began filing out. A buzz hung in the air, giddiness at the prospect of everything they could do now they were on their own. Adora led Glimmer to her halls, heading there to see if her roommate had turned up yet. As they walked, they also discovered that their rooms happened to be in the same halls.

Having focused so adamantly on sports at school with just a small group of close friends she mixed with, Adora wasn’t exactly the best at knowing what small talk entailed. Memories of awkward first dates with potential high school boyfriends made her cringe. In fact, word vomit was a better way to describe the approach she had taken. By the time they reached her dorm and she began unlocking the door, Glimmer already knew the entirety of Adora’s high school athletics team by name. “So I used to train every day, but with all the prep work we had to do for the course I- Oh, er, hi?”

“Hey, Adora.” She immediately recognised the smug face from orientation, the image of her sauntering up the stairs, and her irritating smirk, burned into the back of her brain.

“You really don’t recognise me, do you?” Panic spiked in Adora’s stomach, making her feel too hot and cold all at once. _I knew I recognised you. Where do I know you from?_ Her face was entirely readable, the inner turmoil and how hard her brain was working evident to them both.

Glimmer decided to fill the awkward silence Adora had created by simply standing there gawking at her new roommate.

“You must be Adora’s roommate. I’m Glimmer.” She smiled politely.

“Catra.”

Both then turned to Adora expectantly, waiting for her to break from her thought-induced stupor.

“Waiiit, Catra? As in, bunk nine summer camp Catra? As in, covered my face in whipped cream, tickled my nose with a feather and watched as I smeared cream all over my bunk Catra?”

“And she’s got it. Well _done_ , Adora. Not just the dumb jock everyone in middle school thought you were.” Catra felt thrilled by the prospect of antagosing the sweet girls in front of her.

“Hey.” Glimmer interrupted. “Who are you to say she’s dumb? At least she had the sense to turn up to her first day on time."

“Yeah. I have lots of knowledge of lots of important things."

“Nothing that’s coming out of your mouth is helping your case.” Catra mumbled. Adora couldn't ignore the disheartened sinking in her chest at the realisation she would be living with this Catra girl for at least the next year. _If I wanted to feel dumb I'd have asked Mara to come live with me. Try being little sister to the smartest girl possibly ever. But she_ was _wrong about one thing. Not everyone_ _loves me the second they meet me. Evidently._

"Okay, well, we're going out this evening, since it's the first night and everything. I know I didn't run that past you Adora but I've been talking to someone who's starting here and he said he's going out and that we should come so I sort of already said we would. Catra, if you want to join us, you're welcome, but feel free to...not do that too." Glimmer gushed, pushing Adora out the door as quickly as they'd arrived.

* * *

Glimmer and Adora stumbled into the dorm room, giggling and shushing each other at an obnoxious volume. Catra glanced at the time on her phone. 2:30am. _Great._ She caught fragments of their conversation as they unsuccessfully attempted whispering. Something about Adora doing “four whole entire shots in one go” and how “Micah would _not_ be pleased to hear about that”. After a few more minutes of inane chatter, Glimmer excused herself to go get ready for bed.

“So, what scholarship is it you’re here on?” Adora spun round to see Catra reclined on her bed. The combination of a ripped, baggy t shirt and shorts that adorned her made something strange bubble up in Adora's stomach, but she squashed it without thinking.

“Huh? What? How’d you know I’m on a scholarship?”

“I heard you mention Micah to Glimmer, yknow, the guy in charge of all that stuff.”

“Well how’d you know he’s in charge of the scholar-shups, sheps, scholarshaps, hmm?” Adora slurred, hiccuping and laughing to herself at the sound.

“What is this 20 questions?” If Catra thought her hostile attitude could deter Adora she was very much mistaken.

“Fine. I’m here on an a-“ She trailed off, the end of her sentence collapsing into indecipherable mumbling as she turned away. Adora thought she caught a tinge of red on her cheeks, but with the low lighting it was tricky to tell.

“Here on a what?”

“On an acadmmm-”

“Dude what are you saying?”Adora blurted, exasperated. This game of cat and mouse had her feeling dizzy. Or was that all the drinks she'd consumed. For whatever reason the ceiling was spinning and the floor felt...wavy? _Wavyy. Wavy floor. Wavy floor. Mmmm let's go...wavy. Spin. Spin. Spinny._ The waves became thudding pulsations, forcing her to stagger her way to the bed and flop down. _Ooh, soft._

“I’m here on an academic excellence scholarship! Okay?” She huffed, pacing across the room and leaning against her desk. “I wrote some essays and I guess they liked them so…here I am.”

“Ooh, can I reaad them?” She drawled, grinning up at the girl stood in front of her. Catra shook her head.

“No. No way. No one reads anything I write. You wouldn’t even be interested in what they’re about.”

“Pleaaase.” Catra’s steadfast resolve was slowly but surely melting away. She grabbed a pile of papers from her desk and shoved them into her hands. A minute or so passed until Adora’s baffled voice broke the silence.

“How do you say that word?” Adora frowned as she read, pouting like a child.

“You’re- you’re still on the title? God Adora, you’re such an idiot.” She muttered, determined to show her how irritating she was being, but an inexplicable fondness seeping into her voice said otherwise. “It says ‘Hellenism: How the use of Greek Symbolism in Victorian Literature Enabled Contemporary Authors to Safely Explore Homoerotic Themes”. There followed a long pause, Adora struggling to comprehend even a fraction of Catra’s words, and Catra watching her intently to gauge her reaction.

Then, with a lopsided grin, “Did you just say _homo_?” At that Adora fell backwards onto the bed in fits of giggles. Her laugh was entirely indelicate, punctuated by snorts and wheezing breaths.

“Shut up, Adora. It’s high brow, you’d only get it if you were an intellectual like me, not just some dumb jock.” She teased, remembering how Adora had hated being called that earlier.

“Hey! I’m not stupid!” She yelped through a chuckle, yanking Catra’s wrist hard enough that she fell onto the bed next to her. Catra wasn’t unfit by any means, but Adora was undoubtedly the stronger of the pair, with her athletic training and gym visits. After just a few seconds of fumbling around, Adora had Catra pinned to the bed by her wrists.

“I’m actually very smart. I’m not stupid just because I don’t understand all your long, _fancy_ , dumb words, Catra. Stop saying I’m stupid.”

“Oh yeah? Make me.” Catra’s words were doused in flirtation.

“I- I…I don’t know how to do that.” There was a distinct shift in the air, tension permeating the space between them that had been filled by raucous laughter just moments before.

“Maybe you could start here?” Catra purred, running her thumb delicately across Adora’s bottom lip.

“With my mouth? How can I make you see I’m smart with my mouth? You said everything that comes out of there makes me sound dumb. Remember? That’s a terrible idea, Catra.”

“That’s not what I-“ She began, but was cut off by Adora’s hand flying from her wrists to cover her own mouth. She couldn’t make out was Adora was attempting to say through her hand, but the fact that she then bolted up and out the door suggested a certain sense of urgency. Through the open doorway she heard the sound of the bathroom door being flung open and Glimmer’s startled exclamations.

 _Brilliant timing._ She thought, sighing exasperatedly. Within moments Glimmer was at their door.

“What did you give her?”

“Nothing, I swear.” Catra put her hands in the air, but couldn’t help the amusement creeping onto her face. “She’s never had a drink before. Then she does _four_ shots in a row? Plus who knows what else before that? I don’t think I’m the reason she’s now knelt on our bathroom floor projectile vomiting, Sparkles.”

Glimmer’s eyes sent daggers at her, but the sound of a groan coming from the bathroom forced her to run back to Adora’s side.

 _This is going to be an interesting year._ Catra thought as she stood herself up and shut the dorm room door to muffle the sounds coming from down the hallway. _Is it too late to switch rooms?_


	2. Roommate warfare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long i've had so much going on! but enjoy chapter 2, it's a bit longer than the first :)

There’s something undeniable about the satisfaction of scratching an itch. Whether it’s the gratification of getting under your own skin or the achievement of reaching a spot you previously couldn’t is indeterminable. But the hard and fast rule of nature is that itch-scratching has always been, and will always be, fulfilling.

With very, very few exceptions that is.

On a lazy morning, maybe eight days into term, Catra identified an anomaly to that rule. 

She’d discovered the fact that her roommate was an early riser. In actuality, she'd _rediscovered_ the fact, but it had been so long since they’d shared a bunk at camp and the sleeping habits of her childhood camp friends weren’t something she’d flagged as important to remember.

They had adopted a sort of routine for the past week. Adora being the “goody two shoes” Catra had marked her as, had unfailingly got up, worked out in the gym downstairs, showered and begun studying or left the dorm by 10am. Catra’s morning routine was far more simplistic. Simplistic in that really it was non-existent. She was either up around noon, or would have left to go who knows where by 7am because she’d neglected to get any sleep the night before. 

On this day at 10am, unsurprisingly, Catra’s eyes were firmly shut, her body curled into the foetal position she so often adopted when sleeping. As her body pulled itself out of her slumber, she felt an odd itching sensation across the bridge of her nose. Automatically, she pulled her half-numb arms up to rub her face.

The ungodly noise that came out of her mouth at the realisation that her face, hands and now sheets were covered in whipped cream was heard all down the hallway. Half scream, half hiss, but entirely enraged. 

Through cream-covered eyelashes, Catra glared up at the deceptively innocent-looking girl stood next to her pillow. 

“Now, feathers!” Adora yelled, pulling a chord that released an entire bucket of feathers onto Catra’s head. The glimpses of Adora’s smug face Catra could catch through the now feather-covered whipped cream only served to rile her up further. Then, two painfully irritating words came out of Adora’s mouth. “That’s payback.”

“Pay- Payback?! What are you- Wait…this is about that prank from camp? That, that was _eight_ years ago, Adora. What kind of insane psychopath-“

“I’m like a snake.” Adora said with a goofy grin, moving her arms in waves and hissing. Catra looked unimpressed to say the least.

"Waiting for the…right time to…pounce?” The more she spoke the less sure of herself she became. The girl sat in front of her about to erupt with anger probably had something to do with the regret now gnawing at Adora’s stomach. 

For some reason, her comedic gesture didn’t eke much of an amused reaction out of her roommate; the scowl on her face even appeared to double in size.

“I’m just gonna- I’ve got a thing with…yknow my friend, er Glimmer, we’re doing a thing so I should, I should leave- I’m just gonna, I’m gonna, I’ll go. I’ll go.” Adora rambled, clumsily grabbing her things as she tripped her way to the door. “Good morning Catra. You, you have a nice day.” With that she was off sprinting down the hallway, with a half-zipped bag and stationery flying everywhere. Something told her she needed to run and fast.

Back in their dorm, Catra was searing a hole through her mattress with only the distilled heat of her fury. 

_So that’s how it’s gonna be, blondie? If it’s petty you want, it’s petty you’ll get._ Catra thought, not realising the nails of her balled up fists had almost ripped holes in her sheets.

* * *

  
Petty wouldn’t even begin to describe the dominos Adora’s whipped-cream fiasco had set toppling.

It had been a week since she’d surprised Catra, but when she’d returned to their dorm that evening she’d been greeted by an eerie smile and friendliness that had made her uneasy. Usually, her roommate giving any sign of warmth was reassuring to her, if rare, but this was different. This seemed like the eye of a storm. And she had a feeling any kind of Catra storm was especially volatile.

With seven days of polite yet cautious interactions having passed, Adora felt safe again. She’d forgotten how it felt to be on edge every second of every day. To jump every time Catra stirred in the night, or to freak out each time she opened their dorm room door. She was finally settling in to being at college, although she’d been so consumed with track and work, she’d neglected to see Glimmer since the first day.

 _I really should message her._ Adora thought. _I suck at making friends._

Usually she felt most alive in the moments between waking and getting up, the adrenaline of all the possibilities a new day brought coursing through her and energising her. She’d told Catra this one day when asked why she got up so early, and had been branded a nerd.

Yet, that Saturday her mind remained cloaked by a fuzziness she couldn’t swat away.

With an unusual grogginess, she got out of bed, making sure to tuck her sheets back in - another habit Catra had deemed “entirely nerdy”. 

For some reason, the word nerd out of Catra’s mouth felt like a contorted kind of compliment. Maybe it was the ghost of a smile that flittered across her face afterwards. Or perhaps Adora just liked having a nickname, even if it was exclusively nerd, idiot or anything along those lines, because it meant that maybe, just maybe, they were becoming something that resembled friends, rather than roommates who just tolerated each other.

Her hand went to grab the gym clothes she always picked out the night before and lay on the chair at the foot of her bed. She missed, practically throwing herself onto the floor with the momentum of her swing. Having insane levels of strength was a curse for someone as uncoordinated as Adora.

The sudden thud awoke Catra, the irritation radiating from her immediately.

“Jesus it’s like 7am, keep it down.” She nagged, letting her head hit the pillow as quickly as she’d lifted it.

Adora mumbled hurried apologies, looking up to see the pile of clothes she’d picked out gone. 

“Hey. Hey Catra?” She whispered, moving towards her roommate’s bed with a necessary caution.

“What?” Catra replied, shuffling round to look.

“Have you seen my work out gear? I left it on the chair? My other workout stuff is being washed, it’s the only stuff I have to wear. I’ve got an important athletics meet this morning, really in like 15, oh, 10 minutes, and I can’t be late. My coach is expecting me to show him a better time for the 200-”

“You know, funnily enough, I don’t really care what your athletics coach is saying. And no, I haven’t seen your work out gear. This morning anyway.”

With a disappointed sigh, Adora backed away from the bed, turning to rummage through her draws in case she’d packed them away accidentally. T shirts, tank tops, shorts, leggings all went flying everywhere, painting the room with the vibrant colours of her wardrobe.

The snicker was so quiet at first Adora thought she was imagining it. She was sleepy that morning after all, it could have been the remnants of some strange dream she’d been having. But as the volume grew so did the animosity, and eventually it became obvious that the source of the grating sound was lying in a bed just a few feet behind her.

“I mean, I didn’t see them this morning but, I may have seen them last night after you went to bed.” Catra got out between chuckles. “What was it, 10pm? Early night, princess?”

“I had to get up early.” Adora groaned, unable to stop the rosiness from blooming across her cheeks at her new Catra-fashioned nickname. 

“Sports bra and spandex shorts, right? Yeah. You know, and this might not seem relevant, but bear with me sunshine because it is, I had the most delicious milkshake last night at some diner I went to. It’s new, one of my course mates invited me. They recommended the milkshake so I got it. Marshmallows, _whipped cream_ , the full works. It’s funny what a little detail like that can remind you of.” Catra almost cooed, the gravelly tone still evident in her voice reminding Adora how early it was for her.

“I had to shower three times to get that cream you put all over my face out of my hair. Did you know that? It got a bunch of strands all tangled up and knotted so badly I thought I’d have to cut them off at one point. Anyway, where was I? So I was drinking this milkshake and I remembered what you did to me and realised I’d totally let you get away with it. So when I got back, you were asleep. And, oh yeah, that’s when I saw your workout stuff. I drenched them in water and put them in the hall’s freezer, about 2am last night. So, they should be adequately icy by now.”

“You what?! Catra, I swear-“ Adora yelled, pulling on a pair of trainers and turning to sprint down the hallway in her pyjamas. _Her_ prank had been lighthearted, who’s hair was so untamed that a bit of cream could tangle it that badly anyway? But this, this jeopardised the very scholarship that kept her at the university. 

“Better run fast blondie, looks like that meet starts in five minutes.” Catra shouted after her, checking the time on her phone. It might have been insanely petty, but Adora had started it with a retaliation to something Catra had done when she was eleven.

 _Who even remembers anything that happened before like, fourteen?_ Catra wondered. _I thought everyone repressed their pre-teen memories._

After gingerly fishing out her frozen clothes and putting them on, Adora made her way to her meet. She jogged onto the track, impressively only a few minutes late considering the distance she’d run to get there. As she arrived, a boy who she’d met a few training sessions ago took in her appearance in with a distinct look of confusion.

“Your clothes…” He began.

“Look, Bow. I don’t want to talk about it.” She grimaced, her teeth chattering despite the warmth of the risen sun.

“Are they- Are they frozen?” Adora looked down at her shorts, the drips of water melting their way agonisingly slowly down her legs. She then glanced at her sports bra, which was stiff with ice, frozen in a position that couldn’t support her in the slightest.

“Yeah. I did it on purpose. It’s, a new trend?” It came out a lot more like a question than she’d anticipated.

“I’ve known you for like two weeks and I can already tell you’re a horrible liar.” He chuckled. “Don’t worry, it’ll melt in three seconds once you’re searing your way down that track, just like you did last week. You’re the best sprinter here, by a mile.” 

“Um, thanks.” Adora said, unsure quite how to react to the compliment. Her circle of friends at high school had been characterised by hard shows of bravado, their interactions limited to teasing and friendly competition. It was nice to talk to someone so much softer for a change. He was also incredibly built, already the best javelin thrower on the team and had intimidated Adora immensely the first time they’d met right up until the moment he’d opened his mouth. So he was soft but strong - exactly the kind of friend Adora needed.

“It’s the truth. You’re gonna kill it today.” She smiled at his faith in her, barely given the chance to convince herself of what he was saying before their coach turned up. 

If you can’t do, then _teach_ , was truly personified in the University of Etheria’s head athletics coach. Considering the team ranked so highly in competition, the lack-lustre coach was unexpected, but she somehow managed to pull results. 

“I think the assistant coach is finally showing face today.” Bow said in a whisper, unable to keep the excitement from seeping into his voice.

“What’s got you so enthusiastic?” Adora teased, playfully shoving his side with her elbow.

“I take my sport _very_ seriously Adora. Another coach could be instrumental to our success. You know what they say, the more hands on deck, the more planks there are to- I don’t know where I thought I was going with that. Honestly…someone said he’s cute, so.” Bow followed his candid comment with a wink, much to Adora’s amusement.

“Guys, can you like stop running your mouths for five seconds? And Adora what are wearing? You’ll never be able to run in clothes that stiff? Frozen? Anyway, it’s Coach Mermista’s turn to talk. I thought you guys cared about all this runny-jumpy-sporty stuff?”

“Yes coach. We do coach.” Adora responded, stiffening her back with all the rigidity of a deer caught in headlights. As she did this she could hear Catra’s singsong voice in the back of her mind. _Such a nerd, do something fun for once in your life._

“I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that she talks about herself in third person.” Usually Adora would have laughed or at least nodded in response to Bow’s quip, but she was already on thin ground. Somehow Bow could get away with anything, already proving himself a golden boy within weeks. Maybe it had something to do with the warmth of his eyes when he smiled, or the charm of his seemingly limitless optimism.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Adora’s attempts to win over their coach brimmed with enthusiasm, landing somewhere between passionate and irritatingly keen. 

There isn’t a word in the dictionary strong enough to describe how monotone Coach Mermista’s voice was as she detailed their morning session. But the sudden appearance of an almost cartoonish figure captured the fractured attention of the team. 

“Well ahoy, friends.” His bizarre introduction left the team in a sort of trance, silence falling over them all. “I, I’m pleased to meet you all, ready to take on this new adventure with all of you. People in our industry like to call me Cee ‘The Hawk’ Hooper. But, I want us all to be friends here so, you can just call me Cee.”

“Ugh, Cecil. No one calls you The Hawk.”

“Buttercup, you said you wouldn’t call me that name in front of the kids.” Coach Hawk said, tears practically brimming at the edge of his eyes at Mermista’s comment.

 _Buttercup? Are they, together? The kids? Is he about to cry?_ Adora thought. _Huh. Bodes well._

“And you said you’d stop calling me dumb names like buttercup but here we are.”

The couple’s bickering became the consistent soundtrack for their training session, occasionally broken by the firing of a start gun or the shouts of enthusiastic teammates. 

Despite the rocky start, Adora’s 200m time ended up impressing, gaining an appreciative nod from Coach Mermista, something she rarely dolled out, and a high five accompanied by a colossal grin from Coach Hawk. As the session neared the end they headed back to the bleachers to grab some towels and water.

“I mean, he’s not my type but, his moustache is cute I’ll give them that.” Bow mused absentmindedly, dragging a towel across his forehead and down his neck.

“Eh, I don’t see the appeal.” Adora noted, taking in the comical moustache Bow had mentioned and shuddering at the thought of kissing someone who’s face would bristle against her skin like that. 

“Of course of _you_ don’t.” Bow’s emphasis on the ‘you’ caught her attention, turning her head to deduce what tone he’d been trying to convey.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I- Well, remember when we went out on the first night? You, me and Glimmer.”

“Yeah?”

“It just made me think you didn’t like men like that, or really at all.”

“What, what gave you that impression?”

“Well, you wouldn’t, no _couldn_ ’t, stop talking about how ‘ripped’ the bartender was and how you couldn’t decide if you wanted to be her or be with her.” Flashes of a tall, muscular woman with short, white hair and the biggest hands she’d ever seen passed through Adora’s mind; the images were so vivid it was as if she could see them as ghosts in her peripheral. She remembered the veins popping in her arms as she pumped a drink out, and the flex of her muscles as she opened a beer. God drunk Adora was right, she _was_ ripped.

“I did?”

“Yep. And when I made a comment about the guy behind the bar you said men, then stuck your finger in your mouth and fake vomited.”

“Ah. I see. Subtlety is key, my friend.” Bow’s mouth curved up into a knowing smile. “Who knew I’d be _real_ -vomiting just an hour later.”

“Dreams really _do_ come true.” He said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. This made Adora grin; their rapport was easy. Exchanging small talk, teasing, it all felt so intimidating to her in high school, but with Bow it was different. He made her feel comfortable and happier than she’d been in a while.

“Want to come back to mine after practise? I could text Glimmer, invite her round?” She asked, realising she had to actually hang out with people to call them her friends, and she wanted to be their friend. She really wanted it.

* * *

  
“Cee ’The hawk’ Hooper? Is that some kind of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson rip-off thing?”

Adora was sat cross-legged on her dorm bed with Glimmer next to her and Bow routinely spinning round on her desk’s swivel chair. There was something strangely enjoyable watching him yelp out of both joy and fear as he spun. Perhaps it was the juvenility of it all that made Adora feel a little like she did when she was younger, unbothered by responsibilities or deadlines or petty roommate warfare.

“I don’t know. It’s better than Cecil.” Bow interjected. 

“His real name’s Cecil?” 

“Uh huh.” This caused an eruption of laughter so deafening its origins in the 5 foot 2 girl seemed physically impossible. Something about Glimmer’s cackle was infectious, and soon the dorm room was filled by the raucous laughter of all three of them. The kind of laughter that made their eyes water and stomachs knot in the most delicious way. 

Adora took a moment between gasping for breath to look at the other two, bent over in the best kind of pain. It had only been three weeks since the start of term, and this was only the third time the three of them had hung out together, but something felt undeniably _right_ already. The silences felt comfortable, the witty exchanges felt natural and she felt seen by them in a way that she hadn’t really before.

This moment of pure, distilled joy ended as abruptly as it started with the swing of the dorm room door to reveal a soaked, and apparently seething, Catra.

“Got caught in the rain huh?” Glimmer sneered, not even bothering to hide the hint of a grin on her face.

“Don’t. I don’t want to talk about it.” She responded bluntly, swiping the towel from the end of her bed and marching back out the door. 

“Well, that girl brings about as much joy to a room as the grim reaper.” Bow commented after a minute of thought-filled silence. Adora heard Glimmer hum in agreement and watched as Bow swung his legs like a child sat on a bench too high. “You never told us what happened when you got back from track that day she froze your bra.”

“She froze your bra? Adora! Why didn’t I know about this? How am I out of the loop already?” Glimmer huffed. She moved so her face was just inches from Adora’s, eyes wide with curiosity.

“Oh yeah, and my shorts. She said it was because of my whipped cream prank.”

“She froze your stuff right before a track meet, and you just let her get away with it?” 

“What was I supposed to do, freeze her dumb purple jeans? She has like three identical pairs.” Adora gesticulated towards Catra’s closet, which was filled mostly with varying hues of purple, black, grey and brown. “So what would that accomplish?”

“You weren’t calling her jeans dumb the night we went out, I’m pretty sure it was something like-“

“Uh-buh-buh-uh-” Adora stammered, rosiness creeping up her neck like wildfire. “Thanks Glimmer, that’s enough.” A frown was plastered across Bow’s face, but he held his tongue, not quite sure if he even wanted to stoke _that_ fire. But he had been intrigued, and kind of thrilled, by Glimmer’s idea of payback. And so, they’d spent the rest of the afternoon brainstorming, Adora being the leader she was had even drawn out a mind map. 

Their scheming had invigorated them all so much that they’d only stopped when they heard the turn of Catra’s key in the door’s lock, scrambling frantically to pack away the battle supplies before she trudged in.

“Great, the _best friend squad’s_ all here.” She mocked, chucking her bag onto the floor and throwing herself onto her bed, facing the wall. Glimmer and Bow exchanged questionable looks, then turned apologetically to Adora before grabbing their things and leaving. She was left glancing over at the shadow of a girl she could make out in the low light.

She noticed how she always curled herself up when she lay down, like she was hiding, or protecting herself. It made her look sweet and small, child-like. Adora changed into a t shirt and shorts and turned off her bedside lamp, taking one last, quick look at Catra’s back before she let her head hit the pillow. 

_Maybe I should just leave it. Wouldn’t I rather be friends with her than constantly fighting her?_ These were the thoughts that swarmed her as she tried to get to sleep. Eventually, she fell under to the constant buzzing of her mind and the gentle breathing she could just about hear from the other side of the room.

* * *

  
_Catra, meet me at the track at 2. I’m sorry about the whipped cream, I don’t want us to keep fighting, I want us to be friends. Adora_

Catra examined the note she’d crumpled into her pocket for maybe the thirteenth time. She’d initially felt incredulous, finding it difficult to believe she’d done anything to deserve an apology from Adora. She _had_ attempted to hurt her scholarship after all. She hadn’t wanted to get her in trouble, just irritate her enough to show she wasn’t to be messed with.

But after a couple of hours of deliberating, she’d decided to go, knowing she had to share a room with Adora for at least the rest of the year. It would be easier for both of them if they got on to a degree.

She pulled at the bottom of her shirt, a nervous habit she’d had since she was young, when she turned the corner of the track entrance. There was a cloud of noise bubbling up as she neared the meeting point, a cacophony of high-pitched voices that struck more fear into Catra than she wanted to admit. When the track came into view, Catra was stunned. 

The noise had been emitted by a rabble of girls, all dressed in work out gear with their hair in high pony tails, half of them stretching their legs into the air at insane angles. Catra recognised the scene immediately; it brought on a landslide of high school memories, ones she’d rather forget. 

Before she could swivel and run in the opposite direction a woman with a clipboard had stridden over and was already barking something indistinguishable.

“-so tell me?” 

“Tell you what?”

“What’s your name dear?”

“Er, why?”

“Oh wait I’ve found your photo. Catra? Wow your resume looks great, come on then, let’s get you- oh have you brought clothes to change into? I don’t think you’ll be able to pull off a walkover in those jeans.” The woman’s earnest but forceful laugh pierced Catra’s ears in an uncomfortable way, but she was too pre-occupied with the woman’s hand guiding her towards the rabble of girls.

_Cheerleading tryouts. Adora set me up for cheerleading tryouts. God fucking damnit Adora. I swore I was done with this shit when I graduated._

“I, I’m not meant to be here, I-“ Catra began, attempting to turn back around, but the woman stopped her. 

“Oh come on lovely, your application is great, getting to nationals with your high school team? Now that’s going to be hard to beat for these other girls.” She winked in what Catra assumed to be a comforting gesture. Despite her cheeriness, something that usually grated on Catra, the woman’s kind eyes settled some of the irritation building in the pit of her stomach. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Spinnerella, I’m head choreographer. Just pop over to Netossa there and she’ll give you something to change into.” 

Catra noticed something twinkle in Spinnerella’s eyes at the mention of the other coach, but was moved along towards her too quickly to dwell on it.

Before she knew it she was standing in a line up, donning the striking combination of a white tank top and hot pink skort. She resumed nervously tugging at the hemline of her top as girls' names were called. Memories of blisters and sprains and, perhaps most painfully, the awkward stares and silences of changing rooms after she’d come out, flickered through her mind. 

A flash of blonde in her peripheral snapped her out of the daydream she was in, locking eyes with a triumphant looking Adora who was sat on a bleacher, flanked by her little cronies.

 _Sparkles and her boy toy are here too. Great. Nothing like publicly humiliating someone to form life-long friendships, I guess._ Suddenly, she was all too aware of their eyes on her, instinctively moving her arms to cover her bare midriff; she didn’t like feeling so exposed.

The tryouts lasted for a blisteringly hot two hours. When it came to Catra’s turn she could practically feel her three onlooker’s anticipation from the bleachers. Being the spite-fuelled bitch she was, this only spurred her on to perform perfectly. 

And she did.

The impressed smile sent her way by Spinnerella fused with the adrenaline of performing again gave Catra a rush of serotonin she hadn’t experienced in a while. This was only multiplied by the shellshocked looks on the three idiots faces. Catra smirked at them, taking a dramatic bow down, before lifting her head to look at Adora’s stunned face once again. 

She thought about taking a picture to capture the sweet moment forever, but decided against it when she caught Bow filming the scene on his phone. Catra reminded herself to ask for that footage when she next saw him.

 _You really thought you did something there, Grayskull._ She felt victorious as she walked back towards the changing rooms. _Guess you miscalculated._


End file.
